October 9th marks the third anniversary of the death of Michiyuki Kawashima, the lead vocals and guitarist of BOOM BOOM SATELLITES.
Kawashima was a devoted husband, father and gave his heart and soul to his music.
Electronic/Rock unit BOOM BOOM SATELLITES (consisting of members Michiyuki “Michi” Kawashima (guitar and vocals) and Masayuki “Masa” Nakano (bass and programming) were one of the few Japanese groups to have a strong American and European following.
Compared to groups like The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy, the duo formed the group back in 1990 but their first major label signing was through R&S
Records in Belgium.
The group have also toured with Moby and have done countless remixes for artists/bands throughout the world and have also released numerous songs that were used in films, commercials and TV programs.
For many people, their first introduction to BOOM BOOM SATELLITES was through their music in the animated film “Applessed”.
In 2005, their song “What Goes Around Comes Around” was used for a commercial for Dodge and “SAW 3D”. In 2007, their song “Easy Action” was used for the animated film “Vexille” and in 2008, their song “Scatterin’ Monkey” was used in the film “The Dark Knight”.
Their songs “Shut Up and Explode” and “Back On My Feet” were used for the television anime series “Xam’d: Lost Memories” and back in Oct. 2010, the band was on a nationwide tour throughout the US and coinciding with their tour is the release of their best album “Over and Over” which is available on iTunes.
As I read Kawashima’s wife (actress Risa Sudou) touching post on Instagram remembering her husband on the third anniversary of his death, I remembered my times of covering the group and interviewing them back in 2010 along with photographer, Nergene Arquelada.
I asked Michiyuki Kawashima (a.k.a. “Michi”) about the band’s name:
I’ve read that the group’s name BOOM BOOM SATELLITES came from a song by Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Is that true? And was Sigue Sigue Sputnik a major influence in the earlier years of the group?
Michi said, “It’s true how we got our name. However, they weren’t really that influential, I just liked the sound of the title”.
When I asked Michi about what music he was listening to at the time, Michi said, “Like Masa it depends on what mood I’m in, but I’ve been listening to Phil Selway a lot lately. I love the dark, moody sound… kind of Potishead-esque with a folk feel to it. To relax, I love to listen to the soundtrack of the the film Solaris. The combination of orchestral and electronic sounds is really cool. When I need to get psyched up I often listen to something like Converge”.
You can read my entire interview with BOOM BOOM SATELLITES here.
